Control

Empa as Swico Recycling's technical review section

Empa is a multi-disciplinary research institution for material sciences and technologies in the ETH domain with about 1,000 employees at the Dübendorf, St. Gallen and Thun locations. Employees from the Technology and Society Department (www.empa.ch/tsl) make up Swico Recycling's technical review section under the leadership of Heinz Böni. Their task consists of independently and professionally reviewing the Swiss Take Back system for electrical and electronic waste.

Wide range of tasks

In the capacity of Swico Recycling's technical review section, Empa reviews the contracted or new recycling companies. It reviews their substance and goods accounting, proof of materials flows, compliance with technical requirements, removal of pollutants and the environmentally-compatible recycling and disposal of the end products.

Review Tasks in detail

Annual reviews of the eight recycling partners and their dismantling operations (at least every 2 years) in relation to the technical regulations.

Follow-up reviews of potential complaints, monitoring of corrective measures in the companies

Reviews of domestic and foreign customers in respect of the materials of the local recycling partners who perform the ultimate processing

Implementation and review of material and substance accounting among the recycling partners

Statistical evaluation of the material and substance accounting, storage quantities of supplied and treated equipment (elements) and interpretation of the substance and goods flows with consideration given to compliance with recycling requirements

Determining the recycling and utilization quota by way of batch trials

Co-ordination of the review activity with the Swiss Federal Agency for the Environment (BFAU), the cantonal professional departments and, in particular, with the technical review section of the SENS Foundation.

Office certification

The Swico Recycling office is certified in accordance with ISO 9001: ISO 9001 forms the basis of the ongoing improvement of the management system and process management, and has a cost-reducing effect. The SQS Certificate ISO 9001 [PDF zum ISO-Zertifikat von Swico Recycling] is valid internationally and is acknowledged worldwide via the IQNet Partnership.